Hurt cyclist dies after group hit by carMcCRORY (AP) — Authorities said an 18-year-old Massachusetts woman has died after she was injured when a car struck a group of bicyclists traveling through Arkansas on a cross-country trip. Merritt Levitan of Milton, Mass., was one of 13 cyclists traveling from Charleston, S.C., to Santa Monica, Calif., as part of a six-week trip organized by a Williamstown, Mass.-based company called Overland. Overland and Arkansas State Police said Thursday ...

Police seek suspects in store bomb threatRussellville police are asking for your help and any information leading to the arrest of two suspects involved in a bomb threat at Walmart this past Saturday. RPD Public Information Officer Drew Latch said in a press release officers responded to Walmart at around 10:55 p.m. Saturday, after customers heard one white male state that he had dislike for the store and he had left a bomb on isle three. Walmart immediately evacuated the store. Offi...

Cards stolen during robberyRussellville police arrested two men Monday night who allegedly stole two debit cards, emptied bank accounts and bought luggage with plans to leave for Oklahoma. District Judge Don Bourne set bail at $10,000 each for Jeff Clark, 25, and Lenard Scholz, 33, on Wednesday during felony bond hearings at the Pope County Detention Center. Clark and Scholz are being held for theft of property and fraudulent use of debit cards. They are required to app...

Bond Hearings (July 4, 2013)The following people appeared during felony bond hearings on Wednesday at the Pope County Detention Center. Their names, ages, anticipated charges and bond amounts are listed. If charged, they will appear on Aug. 5 in Pope County Circuit Court. • Justin Harris, 20, theft of property — $5,000. A Russellville police detective testified a local trash service called police on June 17 to report someone was stealing fuel while using its charge accou...

Charges possible for driver who hit cyclists LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Prosecutors are considering filing charges against a 21-year-old driver who struck and injured a group of bicyclists traveling through Arkansas on a cross-country trip, a prosecutor said Wednesday. Authorities are investigating why the driver crashed into a group of 13 cyclists on Tuesday afternoon near McCrory, about 90 miles northeast of Little Rock. Prosecutor John Bell said Wednesday there wasn’t any evidence of alcohol ...

Fort Smith man pleads innocent in machete deaths FORT SMITH (AP) — A judge entered a not-guilty plea on behalf of a Fort Smith man accused of killing two men with a machete. George Kinsey is charged with capital murder in the June 26 attack that killed Brandon Prince, 39, and Nathan Young, 22. A judge on Wednesday ordered that Kinsey be appointed a public defender, though it wasn’t immediately clear if one had been assigned. Authorities said the victims were outside a house on North D Street...

Police investigate police shooting of suspectROCKPORT (AP) — Arkansas State Police say a Rockport police officer shot and killed a robbery suspect in a Walmart store parking lot. Troopers identified the dead man as 34-year-old Brandon Rennie Turner of Donaldson. Officers were searching for a certain pickup truck Wednesday after a robbery at the Wishbone store near Bismarck. A Rockport officer spotted the vehicle, which pulled over at a Walmart store. After ordering the driver to step fro...

Police shooting in Springdale deemed justified SPRINGDALE (AP) — Prosecutors said a Springdale police officer was justified when he fired seven shots at a man during a standoff last month. The Washington County District Attorney’s Office indicated police acted properly in the incident last month in the parking lot of a Walmart Neighborhood Market. No one was injured in the incident. According to prosecutors, Rainbow Kilo Rasphoumy, 40 pointed what appeared to be a handgun at an officer, wh...

Prescription pill problem on the risePain pills and the way people acquire them is becoming a bigger issue in the U.S. and in the Arkansas River Valley. Addicts and dealers are stretching the limits of what they will do to possess the drugs illegally. Federal authorities have reached an $80 million civil settlement with the Walgreens pharmacy corporate chain relative to rules violations which allowed tens of thousands of pills such as oxycodone to illegally wind up in the hands o...

Prosecutors attack Zimmerman story several ways SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — A judge tossed out a detective’s statement that he found George Zimmerman credible in his description of fighting with Trayvon Martin, a decision that benefits prosecutors who are trying to discredit the defendant’s self-defense claims. Other efforts by prosecutors to attack Zimmerman’s story on Tuesday included the cross examination of a friend he called after shooting Martin and the testimony of a doctor who found the de...

More air passengers show up with gunsWASHINGTON (AP) — Several times every day, at airports across the country, passengers are trying to walk through security with loaded guns in their carry-on bags, purses or pockets, even in a boot. And, more than a decade after 9/11 raised consciousness about airline security, it’s happening a lot more often. In the first six months of this year, Transportation Security Administration screeners found 894 guns on passengers or in their carry-on...

Before arrest, Hernandez had brushes with violence BOSTON (AP) — As former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez sits in a private cell for his protection, a portrait is emerging of a man whose life away from the field included brushes with violence that started as long ago as his freshman year at the University of Florida. Details of a series of altercations and gun incidents linked to the Pro Bowler have surfaced since Hernandez was arrested June 26 in the death of a semi-pro footba...

Expert: Soldier’s wife died after violent struggle FORT STEWART, Ga. (AP) — A pregnant Army soldier struggled violently against handcuffs on her wrists and suffered blows to the head before she died from a lack of oxygen, likely caused by someone keeping her in a chokehold, a Georgia medical examiner said Tuesday. Sgt. Deirdre Aguigui was found dead on July 17, 2011, at her apartment on Fort Stewart. The military charged her husband, Pvt. Isaac Aguigui, with murder in April and conducted a two...

Snowden’s father praises son in open letter McLEAN, Va. (AP) — The father of NSA leaker Edward Snowden, frustrated by his inability to reach out directly to his son, on Tuesday wrote him an open letter, extolling him for “summoning the American people to confront the growing danger of tyranny.” The letter was written jointly by Lon Snowden and his lawyer, Bruce Fein. It comes a day after Edward Snowden issued a statement through WikiLeaks ripping the Obama administration for leaving him...

Prosecution rests in Manning’s WikiLeaks trial FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — Prosecutors rested their case against Pfc. Bradley Manning on Tuesday after presenting evidence from 80 witnesses, trying to prove the former U.S. Army intelligence analyst let military secrets fall into the hands of al-Qaida and its former leader Osama bin Laden. The 25-year-old native of Crescent, Okla., is charged with 21 offenses, including aiding the enemy, which carries a possible life sentence. To prove that charg...

Former treasurer seeks delay in bribery trial LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Former Arkansas Treasurer Martha Shoffner is asking a federal judge to delay her trial over charges she steered state investments to a bond broker who paid her more than $36,000 in cash. Shoffner on Tuesday asked for a continuance in her trial, which had been scheduled to begin July 29. Shoffner’s attorney said in a one-page filing that more time was needed to prepare for trial. Shoffner was indicted June 5 on 14 federal cou...

Correction official quits; replacement namedLITTLE ROCK (AP) — The head of Arkansas’ Department of Community Correction abruptly retired Monday amid criticism over the department’s handling of a case involving a Little Rock man accused in a May killing who was allowed to remain on parole despite multiple felony charges since his 2008 prison release. David Eberhard announced that he was retiring as the department’s director effective immediately. Hours after his announcement, the state B...

Man charged with murder in machete attack FORT SMITH (AP) — Prosecutors filed two counts of capital murder Monday against a Fort Smith man accused of killing two men with a machete. Sebastian County Prosecutor Dan Shue told the Times Record he will decide later whether to seek the death penalty against 20-year-old Gregory Aaron Kinsey. Kinsey was arrested at his mother’s home late Wednesday and accused of killing Brandon Prince, 39, and Nathan Young, 32, while returning home from a gr...

Conway police say man sold beer, liquor from house CONWAY (AP) — Police have prepared charges against a Conway man who, they said, was selling beer and liquor out of a house in a dry county. Officers said Monday they confiscated 78 gallons of beer and just over a gallon of liquor from a home Friday night after neighbors had complained about traffic in the area. Police found beer and liquor stashed all over the home, including in the dryer. Woodruff said a man at the home told officers he could...

Saline County sheriff says he made ‘mistake’ BENTON (AP) — The Saline County sheriff apologized to residents Monday following his weekend arrest on a complaint of public intoxication, saying he had two drinks on an empty stomach and didn’t intend to be belligerent. Bruce Pennington, 62, was arrested Saturday after Benton police responded to reports of a “very intoxicated individual” leaving a restaurant and getting into a vehicle. Pennington said Monday he went to his vehicle to arrange ...